Evolution of canine information processing under conditions of natural and artificial selection.

The paper first argues that under conditions of domestication animals are necessarily selected (incidentally or otherwise) for (1) responsitivity to a broad band of stimuli and (2) behavioral plasticity. The consequent tractability of domestic animals is contrasted with the stimulus-boundness and response stereotypy of the fixed action patterns observed in wild animal behavior. It is suggested that this difference accounts for the differential trainability of wolves and dogs. The second section of the paper presents observational evidence that although capacity for observational learning. It is then noted that since observational learning requires recognition of means-ends relationships this conclusion is inconsistent with the claim that wolf behavior is largely instinct-bound. Finally, these conclusions are reconciled by hypothesizing that the wolf possesses a "duplex" information-processing system, a primitive "instinctual" system that mediates basic survival responses and a more recently acquired "cognitive" system that evolved as the wolf became a group hunter. Neurobehavioral and developmental comparisons of wolf and dog suggest that these two systems have become integrated into a single scheme in the course of the dog's domestication.

本文首先指出，在驯化条件下，动物必然（偶然地或其他方式）因以下两点而被选择：（1）对广泛刺激的反应性；（2）行为的可塑性。家畜由此产生的温顺性与野生动物行为中观察到的固定行为模式的刺激局限性和反应刻板性形成对比。有人认为，这种差异解释了狼和狗可训练性的差异。本文的第二部分提供了观察证据，尽管有观察学习的能力。接着指出，由于观察学习需要认识手段 - 目的关系，这一结论与狼的行为在很大程度上受本能束缚的说法不一致。最后，通过假设狼拥有一个“双重”信息处理系统来调和这些结论，一个原始的“本能”系统，它介导基本的生存反应，以及一个更近获得的“认知”系统，它随着狼成为群体猎手而进化。狼和狗的神经行为和发育比较表明，在狗的驯化过程中，这两个系统已整合为一个单一的模式。